Last week I spent four days in Babylon by the Bay (San Francisco) to celebrate an anniversary and my entry-into-Medicare-birthday. Having spent my college years there during the late ’60s and early ’70s, I am well aware of the far-left leanings of the government and residents in this part of the state. After all our governor, assistant governor, state attorney general and at least one Senator all came out of local bay area politics to prominence.

A town news release last week alleged that an executive with Park Water Co., owner of Apple Valley Ranchos Water Co., has refused to deny that current ratepayers would be subjected to rising costs caused by the purchase of troubled Yermo Water Co.

For working parents, finding a safe place to send their children after school can pose a challenge. Perhaps that’s why the town of Apple Valley’s After School Activities Program has become so popular that it now has a waiting list for admission.

According to recreation assistant Jacquelynn Auzenne, there are somewhere between 200 to 300 youngsters enrolled in ASAP and quite a few are waiting for a spot to open.

While the usual socks and sweaters may very well be suitable Christmas presents, there are plenty of places in the Victor Valley to find unique gifts that your loved ones will be thanking you for all year long.

Check out the following list of shopping ideas, which includes collectibles, antiques, books, fine wines, instruments, jewelry and more.

The Hi Desert Center for Spiritual Living will ring in the Christmas season at 7 p.m. Friday with its 10th Annual Christmas Concert, featuring local groups Harmoni By Three and Living Proof. Harmoni By Three is a folk/pop ensemble, while Living Proof performs original arrangements of jazz standards.

At every opportunity, I’ve been encouraging individuals associated with the town and Apple Valley Ranchos to share more information and help educate the rate paying public.

A quarter page ad in the Daily Press, which the town placed, is in part responding to an earlier “white paper” distributed by AVR. There is some verbiage and a chart that compares water rates of all the local cities with both AVR and Golden State Water, our two primary private water companies.

Illicit affairs and a series of devious deceptions take center stage in High Desert resident Adriana Flores’ first self-published novel, “Flight Tales: First class flights, sex and lies.” Flores, who writes under the name A.J. Marcs, said her story is a bit of life imitating art but was mostly dreamed up in her own, wild imagination.